Zero to Hero
by Remvis
Summary: Team Aurora is obsessed with mega evolution and will stop at nothing to meet their goals. Zero was an orphan who was raised in Team Aurora in the hopes of utilizing Mega Evolution. He runs away with a young Mudkip in order to gather a team and put a stop to Team Aurora's evil plans.
1. Chapter 1

The lights in the hallway were flickering as the young man strode through them. It was nighttime, meaning that most of the workers in the building had gone home for the night, perfect for what the silent figure had planned. The young man passed by a window, one of the test labs that researched the genetic properties and makeup of pokemon eggs. The scientist, a man in his thirties named Farrin, waved hello to the young man as he passed by before resuming his work. Farrin suspected nothing of the young man that he had helped raise since he was an orphan.

Our hero walked further. There was a tense atmosphere as he made his way through them, until he found the lab daycare. Inside were three pokeballs, each one containing a pokemon. He needed to do this, for the pokemon's sake, but he knew that he could only take one.

 _Lights flashed. Machines worked as the pokemon inside were struggling. "We need to bring up the mega energy converter." said one scientist to another. The other nodded before moving the switch to on. More lights flashed, and the pokemon inside were crying out their names in agony. "It isn't working," said a third worker, "turn up the energy converter to 40%." The second scientist complied, and the pokemon were writhing in pain._

 _Our hero stood outside, watching the events unfold in front of him, unable to understand why the people he trusted were treating the pokemon so cruelly._

 _After they were done, he snuck into the laboratory and read the scientists notes._ We seem to be getting somewhere with unlocking the pokemon's mega energy when we cause pain to them. More tests will be required to research further.

 _Our hero confronted one of the scientists later on. "What do you think you're doing to them, those pokemon were in pain!" he yelled. The scientist rubbed his eyes before telling him, "We have to do this, Zero, or else we may never figure out how to unlock the mega energy innate in pokemon. A necessary evil if it aids in the finding of infinite energy. Now leave me be, I have more work to do"_

 _Zero couldn't believe his ears. Each of the scientists had told him that they wouldn't stop the experiments on trying to get mega energy from pokemon through causing them pain. Each time, his trust in them had faltered. He had wandered through the building, asking different people what was going on, and each time his heart broke as they tried to tell him that hurting pokemon was for the greater good._

 _These people who had raised him. Those he had trusted. They were hurting pokemon for knowledge. For power. It needed to come to an end._

Zero shook his head. He needed to save the pokemon, but he would only have one shot at this. He entered his passcode into the electric lock, and it slid open, allowing him to enter before it shut behind him. The security would only allow one pokeball to be given to one of the trainees at a time, so that they would have a fair chance while battling each other. He had to make his choice on which of the three he was going to save. Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for the other two, he already had a favorite of the three in question.

"Kip?" the water starter said as it was released from her pokeball, tilting her head to the side in confusion. He had to be quiet while informing his partner of the situation, or else the video cameras would catch what he had to say and the place would go on lockdown.

"Mudkip, the scientists here are hurting pokemon to get what they want." Zero told her. "We need to make our way out of the building, so that we can make sure that you don't get hurt either."

"Mudkip." the young one answered. Even for such a young age, the water starter was a very serious pokemon, and could understand the situation at hand.

Zero returned Mudkip to her pokeball, content knowing that she understood the situation. He input his code into the security door once more, and the doors slid open for him, marking the beginning of his escape.

Now, of course, there were obvious protocols in place to prevent pokemon from leaving the premises without proper authorization. While Zero was holding a pokeball in his possession, he couldn't enter certain parts of the building, as well as he couldn't leave the building through many of the doors.

There was, however, an indoor courtyard into which he was allowed to enter, surrounded by an electric fence that led to one such restricted area. He made his way over through the training yard, and approached the fence. It wasn't uncommon in the past few nights for him to do this, come in here with a pokemon to hone his technique. But tonight was different, he thought as he gave a smile.

He released Mudkip from her pokeball, and gave her the command, "Use mud slap on the end of the fence." Ground type moves dampened and often disabled the effects of electricity, and thusly…

"Mudkip!" Mud was thrown onto the fence, rendering the electricity useless. "Good job Mudkip!, Return." He returned the Pokémon to her pokeball before he scaled the fence. Those in the security camera rooms should be asleep right about now, thanks to the sleeping drugs that he put in their drinks before he handed them to the guards. Which meant that there would be no alarm, at least for another hour or so, which would be plenty of time to make his getaway.

He jumped over the top of the fence and broke into a jog. He had researched the guard routes around the premises of the courtyard. If he was right, a guard would round the next corner in about a minute or two, meaning that he had just enough to hide in the closet up ahead. He quickly opened the closet door, and hid inside. It was important that he didn't make any noise, as well as that he closed the door fully before the guard rounded the corner.

He heard footsteps coming as he shut it swiftly, yet silently, as he had practiced many nights before. He had to make sure that the guard, Mark, didn't see him do this; there was a sensor on his badge to show if he passed by a pokeball. Unfortunately, it was able to scan through clothing, so Zero couldn't just walk past him. Fortunately, wood masked the pokeball sensor, so the closet was the ideal place to hide while Mark made his way past.

*thud* *thud* *thud*

Zero's heart beat to the steps of the guard, knowing that if he for some reason opened this closet then he would be in deep trouble. He wouldn't be trusted anymore around the Pokémon, and he certainly wouldn't be allowed outside anymore.

*thud* *thud* *thud*

The footsteps slowly became distant, and Zero's heart slowed down as well. after waiting a minute or two to make sure that the guard was rounded a new corner, he quietly opened the door and escaped back into the hallway. As he made his way through them, he made sure to evade the guards that were on their nightly patrol, and made his way into the main lobby.

Their base of operations was an extravagant building, something that Team Aurora prided itself on. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and a front desk welcomed any newcomers. Bright fuchsia rugs carpeted the floors, and old works of art hung on the lobby walls to be viewed by visitors.

Luckily, there was no one behind the counter of the front desk, and the lobby was void of people. Zero smiled to himself. The seventeen year old strode out the building's main entrance. Brisk air hit his face as he exited into the open world. But he wasn't out of the clear yet, he needed to make sure that nobody from Team Aurora would find him, and Mauville was a very secure city, filled with defenses. He wouldn't be able to return after this, at least not for a long time. But he knew what he needed to do, and so he set out for Verdanturf.

Step One: escape with Mudkip. Check.

Step Two: get in touch with Professor Birch to let him know what was going on.

Zero smiled to himself as he made his way through the town. Certainly an interesting way to start the new year.

 **And cut. Hello all, This is the beginning of my Pokémon Fanfic. I got inspiration to write it while reading Asaf's** _ **A Stray Little Charmander.**_ **If you like the story, drop a comment to know what you think about it so far. This was only just the beginning, too, so future chapters are likely to be longer. Thanks for reading!**

 **~Remvis**


	2. Chapter 2

The hardest part about making your way through a big city is that if you don't have a bike, it would take you hours to make it to the city gates. Mauville, the city that is, was huge. There were different districts; one for shopping, there was a housing district for the rich people up on a second story that could be accessed through elevators, a business district. Fortunately, the bike shop was nearby Team Aurora's base.

Zero made his way over, waving hello to the stray passerbies who were awake this late at night. It was snowing slightly, meaning that anybody out was enjoying the fresh snow that blanketed the ground. He hurried, not wanting to get caught out by someone he knew from base before he could get out of the city.

The streets winded on, the occasional streetlamp here and there providing light for our young charge as he made his way down the snow filled street. Zero looked up, smiling to himself despite the situation he was in. Snow had always made him happy. The purity of the white on the ground filled him with determination to press onwards, and he had finally found the bike shop.

'Rydel's Cycles, open day and night' the sign said, filling Zero with relief. At least now he wouldn't have to worry about going on foot. He pushed open the doors to the store, warm air hitting him as he made his way inside.

"Welcome to Rydel's Cycles, how can I help you this fine night?" a middle aged man asked him. 'He must be Rydel' Zero thought to himself. "Oh, yes, I was about to set off for Littleroot Town, and I don't have a means to get there other than by foot." He paused for a moment before adding, "I have a very important message for Professor Birch."

Rydel had been looking at the young man with suspicion for a moment before he heard Birch's name. "Birch you say? Oh the Professor and I are old friends, here." He said, taking down one of the faster bikes. "I'll lend you a Mach Bike if you will take a letter to him for me, it's probably not as urgent as your message, but I figure that if they're going to the same place, then there's no harm or foul in having you bring it to save me the trouble."

Zero nodded. "Makes sense to me, I'll make sure to deliver the letter as soon as I get there for you."

Rydel smiled to himself before shuffling off for a moment. After a minute or so, he returned with an enclosed letter and handed it to Zero. "It's important, young man, that this gets to the Professor, it's for his eyes only." Zero nodded once more, pocketing the letter in his backpack, before wheeling the bike outside and hopping on it.

As he rode off, Rydel yelled to him, "Take care Zero!" and our hero could only wonder for a second whether or not he had given the bike shop owner his name.

On his way through the city, Zero took his time paying attention to his surroundings. Not only was it important to make sure that nobody would find him and take him back to the Aurora base, but he also wanted to take a last look at the city in which he had grown up.

 _Snow fell heavily upon the ground as an 8 year old Zero saw it for the first time. "What's this?" He asked his mentor, a young man by the name of Jack who had short orange hair. He wore a heavy red snow coat to prevent him from getting a cold, and wore baggy pants and a pair of earmuffs too. Jack was in charge of making sure that Zero didn't get in trouble in the city._

" _This is snow" Jack responded. "You know how it rains? About how water gets evaporated and then falls back down to the ground once it gets cold enough?" Zero nodded his head. "Well, snow is what happens when rain gets even colder. The droplets in the air freeze into small things called snowflakes, and when they fall, they bunch up together and cover whatever they fall on."_

 _Zero was ecstatic, a new type of water! He loved learning about sciences, and having just learned about evaporation, condensation, and precipitation endeared him to water. Snow was a brand new kind of excitement to the impressionable child, and he spent many hours playing in it._

Zero smiled to himself as he reminisced on the years prior. It had been nine years since he had first discovered snow. It had been a discovery that had revolutionized the way that his brain worked. He now favored Water and Ice Pokémon above all else. Years had passed, and now he was able to save a Mudkip from the grasp of his prior Guardians.

He made his way to the other side of town carefully, seeing as how Rydel's Cycles was on the easternmost side, and he needed to leave through the western gate. He rode throughout the back streets to evade anybody that might recognize him, but he soon realized that he needed to stock up on potions just in case Mudkip got injured on the way to Verdanturf.

Right after he decided that it was worth it to go to the Pokémart, he saw a vending machine. Of course! Fresh Water was just as expensive as Potions were, and were way more effective to use. After buying himself a few for the road, he got back on his bike and was soon on his way.

The Western Gate wasn't heavily guarded, and it was easy for Zero to pass through it without trouble. A line trailed behind him, marking the path that his bike road along through the snow. And yet the snow that was falling covered the path, obscuring it from sight within minutes.

Zero knew this route very well; he used to have a part time job helping out the day care couple. It had paid well, but he had eventually gotten a job closer to his old home. The elderly couple was nowhere to be seen outside, which was understandable given that it was nighttime. He stopped at a few places to harvest a few Oran berries from the ever growing Oran bushels, and continued on his way.

Eventually though, he encountered a place that was overgrown with tall grass. He put the Mach Bike into his backpack pulled Mudkip's Pokéball out of it.

Zero had never before walked through tall grass without somebody else to supervise him, and thus it would be his first step towards being self-sufficient in his own mind. To him, the situation was akin to that of a child being told by their parents that they could serve themselves ice cream. Exciting. Invigorating. Nerve wracking. Zero steeled his nerves and strode through the grass.

No Pokémon popped out him immediately, which was a good sign to the young Pokémon trainer. he made his way through it completely unscathed, and reached the other side without a single Pokémon showing up.

It's important to note here that Pokémon do not _only_ show up in tall grass. In fact, it would be wrong of me to say that they were constantly on the lookout for people to show up in tall grass so they could pick fights with trainers. Pokémon that lived in tall grass, are, as a generalization of course, very nonchalant. Of course, if a trainer were to disturb a Pokémon in its natural habitat, or if for some reason the Pokémon wanted to be captured, it would seek out humans to do battle and potentially get caught.

It's also very important to note here that Pokémon can live elsewhere, such as right outside tall grass lying in wait to ambush trainers who thought they got out without a fight.

And so Zero was given quite the surprise as he got tackled onto the ground by a wild Volbeat, who promptly flew off and turned around with a glint in its eyes. This Volbeat had been looking for a good fight all day, but none of the other wild Pokémon in the area wanted to duke it out. Finally night had fallen, and the Volbeat had been about to give up when it saw the human come through. And with a human usually came a good Pokémon battle.

"Volbeat!" the Bug type exclaimed to the trainer. " _Come and battle me!_ "

Zero stood up, wiping the snow off of his snow jacket. A Volbeat eh? The first wild Pokémon that Mudkip would fight. Thank Arceus that it hadn't been a Roselia. "Go Mudkip." Zero said as he tossed the Pokéball, releasing the water type.

"Kip!" said the young Pokémon as it came out of its Pokéball. It quickly saw the Volbeat and knew what was going on. A serious look graced its visage as it assumed a fighting stance without a single command from her trainer.

The Volbeat wasted no time with any sort of pleasantries with the water type, and instead began to rush forwards in the start of a Tackle. Zero was prepared, and ordered Mudkip to dodge the attack before following up with a Tackle of her own, which she was able to pull off fairly easily. She slammed into the wild Pokémon, knocking it to the ground before it sprung back up, looking like it had barely been hurt by the attack.

The Volbeat suddenly turned on the lights in its tail, which had been off until now, and in the temporary blindedness of the Volbeat's Flash, it managed to get a hit in on Mudkip. Mudkip hadn't been hurt too badly either by the hit, but it was still a little bit disoriented by the sudden brightness in the dark of the night.

The battle raged on, with dodging on both sides, tackles going through and missing, a mud slap that didn't seem to do anything (due to type disadvantage, Zero realized afterwards), until finally the two Pokémon were on their last legs. This last attack was all or nothing, and the Volbeat prepared to use one last Tackle before Zero said something to Mudkip.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun." It had been the first time in the battle that he had told his Pokémon to use the ability, and the Volbeat recognized as the spurt of water came racing towards it that it had lost the battle. It attempted to dodge the water attack, but it was much too slowed from exhaustion and got the full brunt of the attack before it passed out to wake up in the morning.

Zero was ecstatic, as was Mudkip. Their first official wild Pokémon battle together, and it had been a win, no less. But Zero recognized that Mudkip needed some rest, and so after giving it a few Oran berried he returned her to her Pokéball.

As he continued towards Verdanturf, he knew that he had quite the adventure to look forwards to.

 **Hello all, so that was chapter two of Zero to Hero. I hope everyone who read it enjoyed it. And sorry Asaf for making you wait two and a half months to read this, I got caught up with life things and couldn't find inspiration to write for a little bit. Seeing your story get updated just recently got me on my feet though, and I punched out the last thousand words I needed to end this where I wanted.**

 **Anyways, if you're reading this, give me a follow and review to let me know what you think so far. ~Remvis.**


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